


Best Christmas Ever

by April_Valentine



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Rickyl Writers' Group Secret Santa 2018, a little smut, and a puppy, family domesticity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 16:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17267840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/April_Valentine/pseuds/April_Valentine
Summary: At little bit of Christmas fluff for Pumpkinnight120, sliding in just under/over the wire.





	Best Christmas Ever

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pumpkinnight120](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pumpkinnight120/gifts).



Judith Grimes was only five years old, but she supervised her family’s holiday preparations. Aunt Carol had brought over lots of cookies but Judith insisted that most stay in the freezer since it was still a week before the holiday and she didn’t want them all to be eaten before Christmas eve. She helped straighten up her own room and made sure Carl did the same with his.

Daddy and Daryl cleaned the rest of the house and Judith was good at picking up her toys and returning them to her room when she finished playing with them because she loved the way the living room looked with the big tree Daryl had chopped down and the whole family had decorated.

The mantle over the fireplace was decorated too. There were pine branches that Daryl had cut from the bottom of the tree, candles, family photos and their stockings were already hanging, waiting for the little extra gifts that would be left there.

Now, two days before the big event, Judith was waiting by the window while Carl played a video game. Daryl wasn’t home yet and she was hungry for dinner. Daddy was home, but he had gone up to his room to change out of his sheriff’s uniform and hadn’t come back down yet.

Judith could tell when Daddy had a hard day at work. He didn’t smile as much when she launched herself into his arms at the door. He’d only give her a tight – really, really tight – hug and ruffle Carl’s long hair as he headed upstairs to take off his gun and sheriff clothes. Usually, the shower would go on and sometimes, like today, it ran a long, long time. Usually, Daddy would re-appear pretty soon, all smiles and questions about how school was that day for Judith and Carl, but on days like today, he sometimes stayed up there by himself. Judith didn’t know if he took a nap, or just sat by the window looking sad. But usually, it took until Daryl came home to get Daddy to come down again. He and Daryl would fix dinner then and the whole family would eat together at their big kitchen table, only Daddy wouldn’t talk as much, maybe only smiling when Daryl nudged his knee under the table.

Judith worried about Daddy sometimes, especially now that it was almost Christmas. She didn’t want him to be sad and too tired from work. Why did bank robbers and bad kids have to mess up her Daddy’s day this close to the holiday, she wondered as she stared up at the big tree in front of their house, looking for the cardinals that liked to eat the seeds Daryl kept in the feeder. She didn’t see them right now but she kept scanning the branches in hope.

A loud honk startled her. It was Daryl’s truck! He was home! Now, he’d get Daddy to come down and they could have dinner and the whole family could sit by the tree and watch some Christmas movies!

Judith barreled toward the door, yelling for Carl and Daddy to let them know Daryl had gotten home. She didn’t bother with a coat, though she knew Daddy would tell her she should have put one on. But it wasn’t cold out. Daryl didn’t even have sleeves on, just his regular shirt and his angel wings vest!

*****

“Whoa there, Asskicker,” Daryl said, smiling at her as she raced to meet him. “What’s got you runnin’ so fast?”

“Daddy’s still upstairs,” she said, pouting.

Daryl knew what that meant. Rick had likely had a rough day at work. Daryl’s hadn’t been exactly great at the shop, either, but the end had been much better and had put him in a good mood.

He patted Judith on her head, telling her, “It’s okay. I’ll get him to come down. I bet you’re hungry for dinner, right?”

“Yes, I am. And so is Carl,” Judith added helpfully.

“Okay,” Daryl nodded. Then he turned to reach into the back of the truck.

“Did you bring something home?” Judith asked, jumping up and down to try to see what was in the truck.

“I sure did, baby girl,” Daryl said. His hands encountered warm fur and a wiggly body. He gripped it gently and carefully lifted it out.

“It’s a puppy!!!” Judith practically screamed!

Grinning, Daryl leaned down and presented the small dog to his daughter. The puppy was still wiggling and tried to lick Judith’s face.

“Oh, he’s wonderful, Daryl! What’s his name?”

“Don’ got a name yet, Asskicker.”

“Where did you get him? _Why_ did you get him?”

“What’s going on?” Carl’s voice came from the doorway, then, obviously seeing the reason for his sister’s shouts, the pre-teen hurried over, bending down to reach for the puppy himself.

“Daryl! He’s cute!” Carl said admiringly.

“What’s all the commotion?”

At the sound of his husband’s voice, Daryl looked up. “Early Christmas gift,” he said, nodding toward the kids and the puppy as they played on the ground.

“Daryl…” Rick shook his head, smiling fondly at Daryl as he walked over to join the rest of his family. He stood looking down at them, a bemused expression on his face. “Don’t you know that impulse purchases like puppies for Christmas aren’t a good idea.”

“Wasn’t a ‘purchase,’” Daryl told him, reaching to put his hand on Rick’s hip. He could see the lines of strain on his lover’s forehead and around his eyes. “Gift from a car owner. He raises ‘em.”

“Okay,” Rick said, sounding dubious. “An impulse acceptance of a gift.”

“This little guy was the runt of the litter and didn’t get bought.” Daryl squeeze Rick’s waist, hoping the explanation would make him understand.

“Better than taking him to the pound, I guess,” Rick sighed. “But – can we take care of a new puppy?”

“I’ll feed him, Dad,” Carl said, looking up. “And I’ll walk him too!”

“Me, too, Daddy!” Judith chimed in eagerly.

“He looks like he might get big,” Rick told her. “You might not be strong enough, Jude.”

“He is gonna get big,” Daryl agreed.

“How do you know, Daryl?” Judith asked.

“’Cause I know what kinda dog he is.”

“What kind?”

“Yeah, what kind is he?” Carl and Judith asked almost in unison.

“He’s a Belgian Malanois,” Daryl told them. “Great dogs. Really smart. Merle told me they had them in the military.”

“Great. Just what we need. A military attack dog,” Rick said, sounding less than enthusiastic.

“He ain’t no attack dog,” Daryl told him, nudging the other man’s shoulder. “Only if ya train ‘em that way. This here’s a 2 month old puppy.”

“He won’t attack us,” Judith said with all the conviction a five year old could muster.

“He probably needs a lot of training,” Rick said, still sounding unconvinced.

“I’ll train him,” Carl piped up. “I can read on the internet how to teach him to sit and stay and not to pee or poop in the house. Please, Dad… let us keep him.”

“We’ll train him,” Daryl added. “He could be a great watch dog and make sure the kids are okay when we get stuck at work or whatever,” Daryl said, his eyes holding Rick’s, knowing that his husband’s reluctance was mostly for show. Rick had a hard time denying any of them what they wanted and the man liked animals too.

“I had a huntin’ dog when I was a kid,” Daryl told him softly. He didn’t usually talk about Rover. While he’d had some good times with the dog, his dad had made him give him away to punish Daryl one time. That had hurt almost more than being hit.

Rick’s eyes met Daryl’s and held them, his expression seeing deep into his lover’s heart. Rick understood, without hearing the words, what Daryl felt about so many things and this was no exception. He lifted his hand and cupped Daryl’s cheek. “I can’t tell you no,” he said, his voice soft.

“We can keep him?” Judith asked, jumping up and grabbing Rick’s other hand.

Her father looked down at her and smiled. “I can’t tell any of you no,” he said, grinning now. “Yes, we can keep him.”

“Daddy!” Judith launched herself against Rick, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“Thanks, Dad,” Carl said, his twelve years making him only slightly more dignified.

Daryl’s response was to pull Rick close and kiss him on the cheek. “Thanks, Rick.”

The family went inside, Carl and Judith both trying to lead the puppy by his leash, while the puppy seemed confused about the whole process. Daryl reached back into his truck bed and produced a box of supplies, a food bowl, a couple of toys and a box of puppy “pee pee pads.”

“What’re those for?” Carl asked, taking the bulky box from him.

“In case a’ accidents.” Daryl met Rick’s eyes, noting his husband was again looking skeptical. “We’ll let him stay in the den,” Daryl decided. “Less to get messed up in there, ‘til he’s trained.”

“And you kids can clean up after his ‘accidents,’” Rick spoke up, trying to sound stern.

Daryl had one more item to retrieve from the truck. It rattled when he hefted it out.

“What’s that?” Judith asked, her eyes big.

“It’s a cage,” Carl told her.

“A cage? That’s mean!” Judith complained. “We won’t have to keep him in a cage, will we, Daddy?”

“Well…,” Rick began slowly.

“Ain’t no ‘cage,’” Daryl told them. “It’s a crate. Puppies gotta have a crate.”

“Why?” Judith asked, already pouting and bending down to hug the little dog.

“So he’ll learn not to pee and shit in the house, for one,” Daryl said, leading the way back inside. “And so’s he’ll have a safe place to hang out while we’re not home. Puppies don’t feel like a crate’s a bad place or a cage, they feel safe in there.”

“Really?” Carl sounded uncertain.

“Really,” Daryl went on, heading directly to the den where they had the old tv and the kids’ video games and toys, along with Rick’s desktop computer and some books and stuff. He set about setting up the crate and then put the puppy bed and a couple of old towels in side. He set the puppy’s food dish right inside the crate too.

“We’ll feed ‘im in there too,” he told the kids. “That way he’ll like going in there.”

“Okay,” Judith had been easy to convince. She picked up one of the toys, squeaking it and causing the pup to hurry over to pounce on it.

“Is he hungry now?” Carl asked.

“Prob’ly,” Daryl said. “You go fill up his water bowl, Jude, and Carl, you give him a couple handfuls of this puppy food.” Daryl indicated the bag of food he’d brought along from the truck.

Judith grabbed up the plastic bowl and headed off toward the kitchen with it. Carl pulled the cord that opened up the bag of puppy food and served some to the eager puppy, who instantly began chomping at his kibble.

“You thought of everything,” Rick said, shaking his head.

Daryl hid his grin as he shrugged. “Knew I better,” was all he said.

“He is cute,” Rick added.

“So’re you,” Daryl said, straightening up and meeting Rick’s gaze. “Judith said you were still upstairs when I got home.”

“Yeah,” Rick sighed, his eyes going distant. “Had a bad case today. Some kids left alone in a house…” He rubbed a hand over his face tiredly. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he said, shoulders drooping.

“I know,” Daryl said, understanding how sometimes talking about the shit he saw on the job made it harder for Rick to deal with here at home with the kids.

“How about we call for pizza tonight?” Daryl asked, including Judith and Carl in the question.

“Yes!” Judith was obviously on board.

“That’d be great,” Carl enthused. “I’m starving.”

“Okay, I’ll call,” Rick agreed. He pulled out his cell and while Daryl oversaw the kids’ feeding and watering the puppy, Rick ordered their usual from the pizza place where their friend Glenn worked. “They’ll be here in about twenty minutes,” Rick told them as he put away his phone.

“Just enough time,” Daryl said, giving him a meaningful look. “You kids take care of the pup,” he told Carl and Judith, “while yer dad and I go get changed.”

“Are we going to watch movies tonight?” Carl asked without looking up from where he was kneeling next to the puppy’s now empty dish.

“I want to watch _Santa Buddies_ ,” Judith yelled out.

“Again?” Carl sounded aggrieved. They’d all sat through the Disney movies about Labrador puppies saving Christmas more than anyone – except Judith – liked.

“But we have our own puppy now!” Judith pointed out. “He can watch with us, right, Daryl?” She looked up at her other parent, her eyes all big and imploring, knowing Daryl couldn’t resist when she used that look on him. And the whole family knew it.

Rick couldn’t help laughing. “ _Santa Buddies_ it is.”

“Yay!!” Judith cheered while Carl groaned.

Daryl and Rick headed out of the den and up the stairs to their bedroom. Once inside, Daryl closed and locked the door, even though the kids knew better than to disturb them when Daryl was ‘talking’ to Daddy after he’d had a hard day at work.

Rick slumped down on the bed and Daryl climbed onto the mattress behind him, kneeling close and wrapping his arms around his lover’s shoulders. Pressing a kiss to the side of Rick’s neck, Daryl spoke softly, “you’re all tense. man.”

Rick stretched and leaned against Daryl, his own hand coming up to rub at his neck. “Yeah, guess so.” He sighed heavily. “Sorry I didn’t get on board about the pup right off.”

“S’okay,” Daryl soothed, knowing part of Rick’s reluctance had been as a result of his stress from work. He reached around to begin unbuttoning Rick’s uniform shirt and then slipped it off his lover’s shoulders. Setting the shirt aside at the foot of the bed, Daryl began massaging Rick’s tense shoulders.

Rick sighed at the comfort and his head tipped forward, allowing Daryl access.

“That feels good,” he murmured. He rubbed and stroked over Rick’s shoulders and up and down the tight muscles of his back, feeling them gradually loosen as the tension bled out of his man. Rick was good at his job, but that meant he brought it home with him too often.

“Christmas, you know?” Rick said, his voice distant and a little sad. “I hate to see kids sufferin’ this time of year. Worse somehow.”

“I know,” Daryl told him. He’d not had much in the way of good at Christmas time as a kid himself, but having Rick and Judith and Carl in his life had made up for those empty, painful years he’d known. Daryl loved them all so much, he’d sworn to himself that he’d give his family anything they ever needed or wanted and would never let them go hungry or cold or wanting for the good things in life.

Rick turned in his arms, reaching to enfold Daryl. “Wish I could make up for all your lonely Christmases,” he said, voice soft and haunted.

“You have,” Daryl told him sincerely. “Best Christmases have been here with you and the kids. Always, Rick.”

Then they were wrapped in each other’s arms, kissing and stroking, easing back on their bed, bodies close and warm and intimate. Rick’s hips flexed and jerked as he rubbed his groin against Daryl’s, both of them quickly growing hard.

“We got enough time?” Rick panted, reaching to tug Daryl’s zipper down.

“Don’ matter,” Daryl responded, lifting his hips to help Rick pull his jeans down to his thighs.

Then Rick was swallowing him down, pleasure washing over him, and Daryl felt overwhelmed by the love Rick never failed to shower him with. He reached out, taking Rick’s erection in his hand and pumping him in time to Rick’s sucking. They weren’t teenagers by any means, but when they felt like this, the need, the comfort and the depth of their emotions were enough to speed things along and within only a few minutes, they were finishing, stars like the lights of Christmas flashing before their eyes and they lay gasping side by side, relief and contentment taking the place of tension and worry.

Rick lay pressed against Daryl’s side, stroking the long hair back from his face, kissing the mole above his lip, nuzzling his cheek with his nose.

“You always make me feel better,” he whispered, his voice low and approving.

“Sweet talker,” Daryl gruffed at him. He ran his hand down Rick’s sweaty chest and over his hip, pinching the other man’s ass hard.

“Ow!” Rick complained. He nipped at Daryl’s earlobe in retaliation, not taking it easy. Daryl only shoved at Rick’s shoulder, sitting up in the bed.

“We better get cleaned up,” he said, looking over Rick’s sprawled out body. The man never didn’t look good to him and it took all Daryl’s willpower not to just strip the rest of Rick’s clothes off and settle in for the rest of the evening here with him.

Rick glanced at his watch. “It’s only been…”

“Been long enough,” Daryl said. “Glenn’ll be here with that pizza soon and the kids’ll be yelling for us.”

He stood up, pulling his jeans back into place and strode to their en suite bathroom. He washed his hands, then ran a washcloth over his face and neck and dried off quickly. Then he returned to the bedroom and tossed a damp washcloth in Rick’s general direction.

There was a wet, squishy sound as Rick caught it, then they both heard the sound of the door bell, followed by a sharp little bark.

“Daddy! Daryl!” came Judith’s voice over the continued barking.

“Pizza’s here!” Carl yelled too.

“And the puppy’s barking!” Judith crowed, obviously thrilled by the sound.

Rick had grabbed a clean tee shirt from the bureau and had pulled on a pair of sweat pants. Now he strode to the door, grabbing a quick kiss from his lover as he unlocked and opened it.

“Don’t just stand there,” Rick called down to the kids. “Let Glenn in!”

“Hold him!” Judith directed her older brother. “I’ll get the door!”

Daryl rolled his eyes and punched Rick in the shoulder. Together the two of them headed down the stairs to join the rest of the family.

Rick paid Glenn for the pizza and wished him a Merry Christmas, then they headed into the den where they all flopped together on the old couch, everybody digging into the food while the puppy eagerly hopping around, watching eagerly and hoping for a crumb or a crust to fall on the floor for him.

Carl put on the movie and soon everyone was engrossed yet again in the story of the puppies who saved Christmas, Judith laughing with glee at their antics.

“Now we’ve got a puppy too!” she said more than once, looking up at her father and Daryl adoringly. “Just like the movie.”

“What are we going to call him?” Carl asked, taking a third slice of pizza.

“I don’t know,” Daryl answered, shoving most of his second slice into his mouth whole. “I was think’ we’d just call him Dog.”

“Daryl!” Judith groaned.

“Yeah, Daryl,” Rick said, imitating their daughter’s tone.

“Well, he’s a dog,” Daryl protested.

“How about Christmas?” Carl said suddenly. “We got him for Christmas.”

“We’ll see,” Rick said, glancing toward Daryl.

“Plenty a’time ta decide.” Daryl responded. “Now let’s finish watchin’ this movie.”

“Okay,” Judith agreed, settling on Daryl’s lap. “This is gonna be the best Christmas ever!”

“I think you’re right,” Rick told her. He looked at Daryl with love in his eyes and Daryl winked back at him.

Rick was right. This would be the best Christmas ever, for Daryl as well as the rest of the family. Just like all their Christmases together were. Always.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this didn't make it in before Christmas but I was totally overworked at my job this year. But it's the thought that counts. I enjoyed writing this fic so much and I hope you all enjoy it too. 
> 
> The puppy is a Belgian Malinois because that's the breed "Dog" is on the show. I'm trying to post a pic of a Belgian Malinois puppy but so far AO3 isn't cooperating. 
> 
> Happy New Year. Rickyl Forever.


End file.
